I had been at Tavern on Broadway for about 10 minutes before my friend bustled through the door. She'd had a long day at work and happy, as she put it, to be "back to reality". She likes Goose Island so I went ahead and ordered for her as she did the standard makeup check before settling in. It was approximately 4:28 pm on a Tuesday afternoon.
As she climbed into the seat on my left I started to tell her my prediction for an upcoming city council vote. But I got no further than "I think" before she clinked my glass in a cheer, took a gulp and asked me: "what, exactly, is the 'Great American Morning Show', please explain". She understood that Good Morning Aurora takes place in the morning from 8 to 9 am. Sure. This is Aurora, America, she got that part. But 'The Great American Morning Show'? What's that mean?
Now before I could get into I had to order another Krombacher. This may take a while and German pilsner has a unique ability to stimulate expression. But I explained that Good Morning Aurora isn't just news its community. She knew that part. But did she know that Good Morning Aurora is woven into the fabric of the listener? It's not just news it's THEIR news (the listener), it's "your" news, I explained to her. Communication and a sense of a responsible and familiar message is what Good Morning Aurora is all about. One of the MANY things Good Morning Aurora is all about, actually. But the 'Great American Morning Show' is what Good Morning Aurora stated we would BE for our listeners. And it's also what our listeners started referring to us as shortly after we coined that term.
A good number of our listeners can remember long road trips in the Country Squire. They remember Dad driving the family to Iowa, Wisconsin or other parts unknown. They listened to Harry Caray have fun while ranting, doing what he loved, from the Cubbies dispatch box. They know exactly where they were when the Challenger mission to space ended in tragedy. Some of our listeners remember when sports games were only on the radio. As such, life and the shared experience that nurtures community-building were much more intimate; more real and more relatable.
It's Planes, Trains and Automobiles every day. It's blue-collar. It's what your Dad used to listen to in the garage with a beer. It's what Mom folds laundry to. It's what the APD tunes into a little bit here and there in the parking lot over there at Jake's Bagels, for example. It's direct, it's thorough, and it is and has been the voice of the people since its creation. There once was a time when people trusted the information they received, because they could touch it. They could feel it. That was the sinew in the body of the American (media) experience. And that went away a long time ago.
But it's back now, and here we are. And the human being is the focus of Good Morning Aurora. The blood in the vein of the downtrodden, the voiceless; that's what we're focused on. Good Morning Aurora is a safe space, for anyone. That's ONE of the reasons why its the 'GAMS' (great American morning show). Good Morning Aurora exists to make you, the listener, feel better every single morning of every single day. Monday thru Friday. That's what 'Great American Morning Show' means.
At that moment her veggie burger arrived. We clinked glasses in a cheer and the rant was over. Pat brought another Krombacher and a water for both of us.
And as the ketchup made its slower than molasses descent through the bottle and onto her fries, she asked: "so who's on for tomorrow?"
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